An experimental mesocosm study of microhabitat preferences and mobility in benthic foraminifera: Preliminary results.

Abstract

Three small microcosm experiments were carried out to study the microhabitat preferences and mobility of benthic foraminifera from the northern Adriatic Sea. Following initial homogenization, the foraminiferal assemblages developed a clear microhabitat partitioning in the microcosms within 20 days. Most species occured in the top cm of the sediment. Some species preferentially living deeper could be identified. The agglutinated foraminifer Leptohalysis scottii turned out to be the most prominent epifaunal/shallow faunal species. It appeared to be very intolerant to the environmental conditions in deeper sediment layers but demonstrated its ability to avoid and escape small-scale hostile environmental changes. Under more favourable circumstances (i.e., in the uppermost part of the sediment), L. scottii is in the position to exploit its competitive abilities, resulting in dominance of the assemblage in the top centimetre.